Are You Utilizing the Proper Verb To Say ‘Hear’ in Spanish?
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The Spanish verbs oír (to listen to) and escuchar (to take heed to) are the most typical methods to speak about your sense of listening to. However there are slight variations it is advisable find out about these two verbs.
You’ll discover ways to keep away from that awkward silence on a video name with colleagues or on a cellphone name to the restaurant as you make a reservation by realizing the way to ask “are you able to hear me?” in Spanish. Plus, there are just a few widespread phrases and slang phrases that may make it easier to discuss extra fluently about what you hear in Spanish.
Oír
Oír is essentially the most direct translation of “to listen to.” It belongs to a gaggle of widespread however very irregular Spanish verbs. Don’t let the vowels, spelling adjustments, and accent marks intimidate you. The types of oír seem unusual, however as you become familiar with them poco a poco (little by little), they’ll come extra naturally.
oír (to listen to) current tense
| yo oigo | I hear | nosotros oímos | we hear |
| tú oyes | you hear (casual) | vosotros oís | you hear (casual, plural utilized in Spain) |
| él/ella/usted oye | he/she hearsyou hear (formal) | ellos/ellas/ustedes oyen | they hearyou hear (formal plural) |
Some examples of the verb oír in context will make it easier to turn into conversant in how the verb is used.
- ¿Puedes oír la televisión? = Are you able to hear the tv?
- Hay mucho ruido. No la oigo bien. = There’s a whole lot of noise. I don’t hear it effectively.
- Ella oye algo. = She hears one thing.
- Todos los veranos oímos los fuegos artificiales. = Each summer season we hear the fireworks.
Use the verb oír on a name
Whether or not you’re speaking por teléfono (by cellphone) or on a videollamada (video name), it’s a typical prevalence that one or each of you’ll have to ask in case you can hear one another effectively, with expressions like “are you able to hear me?” in Spanish.
In a proper setting, the place you’d use usted vs. tú, strive these examples:
- ¿Me puede oír? = Are you able to hear me?
- No oigo bien. = I can’t hear effectively.
- Sí, lo puedo oír ahora. = Sure, I can hear you now.
Discover that the infinitive oír follows any conjugated verb, corresponding to poder (to have the ability to), which is commonly translated as “can.” You would possibly want to inform a buddy “I can’t hear you” in Spanish, utilizing casual expressions like these:
- ¿Me oyes? = Do you hear me?
- No te oigo. = I don’t hear you.
Escuchar
Whereas associated to oír (to listen to), escuchar has a that means that extra carefully interprets to “to take heed to,” implying that the individual is actively listening or attempting to listen to, however it will also be used as “to listen to” in Latin America.
If you use escuchar to imply “to take heed to,” it doesn’t require the preposition “to” in Spanish. As an alternative, it’s adopted immediately by a noun.
- Me gusta escuchar música. = I like to take heed to music.
- Es importante escuchar al profesor. = It’s vital to take heed to the instructor.
It’s, nonetheless, pretty widespread to make use of escuchar as a synonym for oír (to listen to) in some instances. The context will decide the English translation that sounds most pure.
- Disculpe. No lo escucho. Hay mucho ruido. = Excuse me. I can’t hear you. There’s a whole lot of noise.
- ¿Escuchaste lo que le pasó a Sara? Se fracturó la pierna mientras estaba esquiando. = Did you hear what occurred to Sara? She fractured her leg whereas she was snowboarding.
Escuchar conjugation is pretty easy because it follows the sample of common -AR verbs in Spanish.
escuchar (to take heed to/to listen to) current tense
| yo escucho | I take heed to | nosotros escuchamos | we take heed to |
| tú escuchas | you take heed to (casual) | vosotros escucháis | you take heed to (casual, plural utilized in Spain) |
| él/ella/usted escucha | he/she listens to you take heed to (formal) | ellos/ellas/ustedes escuchan | they take heed to you take heed to (formal plural) |
‘Hear’ in Spanish slang
You would possibly encounter the phrase ¡oye! (hear) in Spanish slang or casual speech. Its that means could be closest to the attention-grabbing “Hey!” in American English, or “Oi!” in British English.
- ¡Oye! ¡No dejes tu móvil! = Hey! Don’t depart your cellphone behind.
- ¡Oye! ¿Qué haces? = Hey! What are you doing?
It could possibly function a little bit of an aggressive reprimand or it may be informal and pleasant, relying on the context and the tone. In some cultures, it’s extra widespread to say ¡oiga! as a barely extra formal Spanish command.
Spanish isn’t a word-for-word translation of English. Be taught these expressions and Spanish phrases associated to listening to and ears to talk like a local.
| Spanish | English |
| como oír llover | nonchalantly/like water off a duck’s again (actually “like listening to rain”) |
| con discapacidad auditiva/duro de oído | hard-of-hearing |
| dar oídos a/prestar oídos a | to concentrate to/to heed |
| decir al oído | to say one thing confidentially/whisper in somebody’s ear |
| enterarse de | to listen to information/to turn into conscious of a reality |
| hacerse oír | to draw consideration/make your self heard |
| improvisar/ver qué pasa | to play it by ear |
| el oído | the sense of listening to |
| el oído/los oídos | the interior ear(s) (a part of the ear accountable for listening to) |
| tal como lo oyes | simply as you heard it |
| tener noticias de | to listen to from somebody |
| tocar de oído | to play (an instrument) by ear |
Perceive what you hear in Spanish with Rosetta Stone
Cuanto más oyes (the extra you hear) y escuchas (and take heed to) Spanish, the higher you’re capable of realize it. Since your time is effective, you’ll wish to make sure that the Spanish you hear is straightforward to grasp and sounds as near pure and genuine Spanish as doable. Publicity to real-life Spanish will make clear the distinction between comparable phrases like oír vs. escuchar or saber vs. conocer (to know).
A giant a part of how Rosetta Stone works is by offering you with these high quality examples inside its many instruments, just like the all-in-one app, the phrasebook, and the chance to take reside classes.
